Army tradition

Just thought I'd show ya what some guys do when they get out of the Army. I've seen this on several Army posts.

I wonder if they're my size?


This message was edited Sunday, Mar 24th 4:09 PM

Very foolish! Those are some good work boots, a real valuable tool. Maybe they needed to stay in and grow up a bit more?

*giggle*

We have a 'shoe tree' at my undergraduate college. Students would tie the laces together, and hoist up a pair of choice. The tree was full of shoes - some boots, some worn out holey sneakers.

I always figured it was a way to 'leave a memory' on campus.

Thanks for bringing back a bright memory, 'hc'.

-Jennifer

Dh still has his, they are very handy working boots here on the farm. His winter military boots are the warmest he has also. Of course they don't look like they did when he was still in the Army ;~D

Lana

I have an old pair of boots that I have hens and chicks growing in. Whenever I'm at a thrift shop or garage sale, I always look at old boots to see if I can find one that would hold plants.

Wonder what the birds think of this tradition! They probably think hmmm, these folks have their hearts in the right place but they put the door on the roof and we'd drown in these silly houses if it rained!

LOL Aimee, I can see your mind thinking about the wastefullness of this tradition and all the shoeless people in the world who could put those boots to better use. But for the party leaving the Army this is an apt way to say what they thought of the marching they had to do in those things!

Yep, my conservative nature is deeply offended by this shameful waste. Think of all the barefoot kids in Calcutta, or wherever mothers now use to make their kids sick of the sound of the place instead of shaping up. Hey, I thought I was the only one planting in boots. I dressed mine up one year, sprayed them with gold and silver paint and draped beads across the toes. The poinsettias never looked so chic, but the elephant hide is no longer fit for the barnyard. And a cuter planter can't be found than a pair of worn out boots with mother-in-law's tongue and a red gingham kerchief. I even have ceramic boots and shoes for similar madness. I am really getting more offended by the minute, thinking of all those irresponsible soldiers wasting those perfectly good planters.

They'd most likely prefer to drink from them before they're ever plant something in them!...lol At least that's the impression I get from having lived with them for 4 years on active duty. Not all are like that though.

I guess I'd rather see the boots hanging in the tree going to waste than to see them covered in blood with the soldier still wearing them...if you get my drift. Give 'em a little break ;) Throwing the boots in the tree is just a little release of stress and anxiety brought on by the military way of life. No harm done...it's just a pair of boots. They may indeed mean much more to someone else somewhere in the world, but to most Americans, it's just a pair of boots hanging from a tree branch and is just a little bit comical.

hczone6 ;-) I still think the birds are having a good laugh over them! The military services are all steeped in traditions and this has got to be one of the funniest of them! Do you have any other Traditions to share with us civillians?

Hmmm...I'd have to think about that one for a minute. Some of them may not be fit for public viewing on here though...lol I've seen some pretty crazy things in my days there, but some I just have to shake my head at and wonder why in the world someone would do such a thing :) I'm probably one of the most tame and easy going people in any unit I've been assigned to. I don't drink, smoke or curse...so that makes me stand out like a sore thumb to start with...lol

Getting punched in the arm is one of the little traditions I didn't much care for...when getting promoted. It's not common practice, just depends on where you are. The guys can get a little carried away sometimes.

Something they do to new people is play tricks on them. For example, if you work around helicopters, someone may ask you to go get a bucket of rotor wash. Of course, rotor wash is the wind created by the rotors of the helicopter and it's not something to wash the rotors with!...lol If you worked in commo, like me, they may send you the shop to get a can of frequency grease. Things like that :)

My Granddaughter is in the Navy....what they did to her when she crossed the Equator is beyond description...I shudder at some of the pictures...but it was "tradition" and she knows she never has to do it again...and can now get a belly laugh watching other "first timers" going through it.

I knew a boy that "disliked the Army" (putting it mildly). The day he was discharged at the base, drove the 15 miles to his house...he was sitting in his skivvies....having thrown his uniform out the window ...piece by piece! A complete uniform scattered on the desert of Arizona. LOL

The picture made me chuckle - Dh is counting down his days to retirement. I'm sure he will keep everything as he tends to keep and wear everything until there's nothing left to it. But I'm sure he won't miss never having to wear camouflage ever again. And his latest "disdain" is the latest change in clothes that he is required to wear and that is the beret they are required to wear. At least the caps kept the sun out of their eyes during the summer.

What's the saying - something about - until you've been in a person's shoes - you can't really imagine what they've gone through. (something like that)

Have any of you ever seen the cowboy boots that are propped on top of the fence posts that line a ranch?

Sure have! And in some areas, there is a tradition of nailing a cowboy's boots to the stable wall when he gets married. I think the fence post toppers started out when someone died on the range, but can't prove it.

Near the University of Texas, a couple blocks off "the Drag," is a "shoe tree." I always thought it was just drunk students blowing off a little "after-test" steam, so never really attached any meaning to it. But Jennifer, your explanation makes sense, too! Never thought of it that way.

Oh, Zany!! I can just see that bird, standing there, scratching his head at us! LOL! What a funny thought!

HC, you tradition stories about sending newbies for things brought back a memory for me. When I was a painting contractor, I happened to be on a jobsite with a trim carpenter who had a new helper. The helper cut a trim board off 1/4 inch too short, so, with an incredibly straight face, his boss sent him to get the "board stretcher." His boss and I watched him from the house, opening every toolbox on that truck, taking everything out, before he looked up and saw us giggling in the window and caught on! LOL!

Yep, we've been known to send people off looking for a cable stretcher when someone cuts a cable too short in my telecom job in the civilian world. They look at you a little funny at first, but they don't know any better :)

WZ's DH here.I got out of the Army 30 years & 4 months ago. I still remember the 2 pair of combat boot's I brought home, long since worn out.

Everytime I put them on I felt like everywhere I went had to be at "double-time".

Now being a member of A.A.R.P. and blown out knee's ,Im glad those those suckers have been composted at the dump.

DH called his BDU's his pickle suit and to this day hates green. I miss seeing him in his uniform but he certainly doesn't miss wearing it and I'm glad he's not still in the service. I don't take a second look at many men but a man in military uniform always catches and holds my eye for a few moments and makes me sigh :~)

Lana

Oh, Wingnut, you must mean the one with all the rotting old tennis shoes! Someone told me it replaced a panty tree in the 60s, when UT threatened to suspend anyone caught adding to the fascinating tree trimmings. I suppose by today's styles, those would be considered granny bloomers now.

That's the one, Aimee! It replaced a panty tree? I'd never heard of that! HOW FUNNY!! Your story makes perfect sense ~ isn't the current display actually just off campus? Or am I not getting it straight? I know it's close by, just can't remember if it's still in a part considered "on campus" or not.

Panty tree! *got the giggles!*

Wing, it's been almost 30 years since I saw it, but it seems to me it was in that area that has a lot of frat houses and some old looking new buildings that are probably dorms, maybe around 26th street, and the street takes a big curve down to Lamar. At that time, there were a lot of cute West Austin cottages around there and lots of original owners still lived in them. Later, it sort of fell to developers. I would like to see if it's still the same tree. It was quite a sight, and had already been there maybe 10-15 years, so there was quite a collection in various stages of decay. For all it has wrong, you have to hand it to Austin, there are some unique traditions to be seen. And I still get a nice warm fuzzy feeling when the tower is orange.

This message was edited Wednesday, Mar 27th 11:50 PM

The biggest fuss over the berets is that the black beret belonged to Army Rangers for a long time. If they are going to give us all berets, maybe they should have made ours a different color, and let the Rangers keep the black ones.